The Mermaid of Orb
by Black Convoy
Summary: The country of Orb is a haven for Naturals and Coordinators. However, Orb's military is not as safe, especially with the influence of the Atlantic Federation. This is the story of Michiru and her experiences as a coordinator in the military. SM/GSDx-over
1. Introduction

Hello everybody. This is the introduction to my fourth Gundam Seed crossover. This is one of the sister stories to Her Orange Knight found in the Gundam Seed category. This is Michiru's story and her contribution to the Second Bloody Valentine War. I hope you all enjoy it.

Introduction

Cosmic Era 73. After two years of peace following a brutal war, the world is threatened by that very same cycle of malice and contempt. A handful of terrorist have just succeeded in what is the worst act of terrorism in history. They were a group of rebel Z.A.F.T. soldiers from the Zala Faction that lost loved ones in the destruction of the PLANT (Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology) Junius 7 hurled the remains of the colony at Earth. Thanks to the efforts of Z.A.F.T. under Chairman Gilbert Durandal were able to break up the main body, they were not able to prevent the debris from hitting the planet. The destruction and casualty rate was unbelievable. The event was rightfully dubbed The Break the World Incident. The rage of the people of Earth skyrocketed with the revelation that this was a deliberate act of Coordinators instead of a freak accident.

The Atlantic Federation, whom was notorious for its anti-coordinator policies, was quick to use this incident as a way of turning the entire world against the PLANTs. With its newly formed World Treaty Organization, the Atlantic Federation immediately sent a list of unreasonable demands to the PLANTs. When the PLANTs did not give them their desired response within an unreasonable time slot, the Atlantic Federation declared war on the PLANTs followed by an unsuccessful nuclear attack.

Meanwhile on Earth, the small but powerful nation of Orb was under grave pressure from the Atlantic Federation to join the World Treaty Organization. Despite the opposition from Orb's Prime Minister Cagalli Yula Athha, the decision was made and Orb did join forces with the Atlantic Federation. With this alliance, the Federation had complete access to Orb's military. This was a dark day for many soldiers, including myself. My name is Michiru Kaioh. I am a Lieutenant in the Orb military and one of the few coordinators in the service. This is my story…


	2. Doubts and Duty

To be completely honest, I am very satisfied by the results of the Intro. This is the best read/review ratio that I've ever had. And the people to thank for that are Harpygirl91, Princess de la Luna, and Lil-Saturn-Goddess. Also, I found this chapter to be pretty hard to write, so sorry if it's a bit rough. Despite being one of my favorite senshi, Michiru is hard to write about. Hopefully the future chapters will be smoother. Since that matter is taken care of, enjoy and please review.

I don't own Gundam Seed Destiny or Sailor Moon.

* * *

Chapter 1 

Doubts and Duty

"Are you sure it's alright for you to be here," asked a red haired woman as she placed her hands firmly against her client's back. "Shouldn't you be on duty at Onogoro or something?"

"I thought I already told you Elsa, today is my last day of leave before I return to active duty," said Michiru in her usual elegant tone to her message therapist. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not too happy about it either. I mean, this is completely against the principles of Orb. Working with the Atlantic Federation against my own people doesn't thrill me so much either. But what can I do about it when it's an order from the higher ups?" Michiru tried to push her concerns to the farthest corner of her mind, but she knew this was an issue she could not put off. It went against every aspect of her morals as well as those of the country she'd come to love. "_Orb shall not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack us, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations._ To think such an incident would occur that would shatter the very basis of Orb. It's frightening, isn't it Elsa?"

"You're right. When I heard that Orb was joining the Atlantic Federation, I felt betrayed, but there wasn't anything I could do about it," confessed Elsa as she continued messaging Michiru's lower back. "Since I'm a natural, I can't imagine what the citizens that are coordinators are feeling. I'm sure that you and the other coordinators are more furious with the Seirans than I am, yet people like you are still willing to fight. I wish I had commitment like that."

"Well I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but for me, it's not an issue of loyalty to the government. It's more of a vow I made to protect the people I love and the nation I love. I may disagree and I may act out of retaliation from the treatment I get, but that isn't enough to dissuade me from my vows."

"You're strong Michiru," complimented Elsa with absolute sincerity. She watched as her client and best friend got up from the table.

"I have to be," replied Michiru as she put her shirt back on, unconcerned that Elsa was still in the room. "I'm one of the few female coordinators in the military, and my gender preference doesn't win me any popularity points either." She waited until Elsa left the room before she finished dressing. "I can't let anyone beat me, so I must be strong," she told herself.

Michiru's mind was raveling with moral questions and problems. However, she wasn't about to let that interfere with her last day of freedom. She decided to go to her haven so she could get some peace of mind. The aqua haired coordinator pulled her car keys out of her purse and approached a bright blue sports car. It was one of her favorite possessions, but it paled in comparison to her custom M-1 and her pride and joy, her mother's violin.

Once she had all of her things ready, Michiru sat back in her chair and pulled out a book from her purse. A good romance novel and the soothing sound of the waves was all she needed to lose touch with the troubles of reality. What she didn't need was the loud voices of little children to bother her, which is what she got times five. "For the love of God," she muttered in annoyance and looked away from her book to see where the problem was coming from. What she saw was a startling surprise to her. Michiru was sharing the small beach with none other than the twin brother of Orb's prime minister and the ultimate coordinator, Kira Yamato. To make things more interesting, standing beside him was the world known "Pink Princess" and Songstress of the PLANTs, Lacus Clyne. Who would have guessed this would happen to one of Orb's best violinist, Michiru Kaioh. "Well, well, isn't this a small world after all," she said softly under her voice prior to returning to her novel.

Despite it not being Michiru's intention, her comment got the attention of the ultimate coordinator. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that somebody else was here (that's his level of awareness off the battlefield in a nut shell). Sorry if we're disturbing you." Michiru begrudgingly put down her book again and gave her full attention to Kira and his girlfriend.

"Don't think anything of it," Michiru told him. Then something snapped mentally and she was reminded of his status and place in the history books of the Orb military. Immediately, she stood at attention and saluted. "Forgive me for my lack of respect Master Kira. I am Lieutenant Michiru Kaioh of the Orb 2nd Defense Fleet. I am greatly honored to meet you, sir." Her stance was so ridged that she could be compared to a statue.

"Um… at ease soldier," instructed Kira with a nervous chuckle. He'd never been used to military formalities and he probably never would be. Lacus laughed softly and discretely as her beloved tried to get Michiru to drop the formalities. However, it wasn't going so well. Out of desperation, he decided to change the subject, or bring up a different discussion. "So are you a mobile suit pilot?" The words that came out of his mouth shocked him because the topic of mobile suits was the last thing he'd ever discuss.

"Yes sir, I am the pilot of a custom M-1 Astray designed for underwater combat. Also, there aren't many coordinators in the military that do anything else but pilot mobile suits. The incentive is that with our skills of machinery, we coordinators can dispatch of the enemy quickly and keep casualties on our side to a minimum." The lack of soldier's pride was something that Kira was able to catch on to and he felt understanding and sympathetic. "But for the most part, I don't fight because I'm ordered to. I fight because of the people I hold precious."

"I understand how you feel. Personally, I'm hoping that this war will be over quickly. I really don't want to fight. Nor do I want to see anymore people die for such a foolish cause like blaming the PLANTs for dropping Junius 7 or something to that extent." The rumors about Kira Yamato were indeed true. At heart, he was just a gentle young man that only fights to protect. His history in battle and the legends of his deeds on the Archangel only supported this hypothesis.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" As any respectable soldier would do, Michiru waited until she was given approval before she opened her mouth. "For the most part, I share the same opinion about this war that you do, but if somebody close to you is killed, then don't you want revenge? I know I would, so I try to prevent that by bringing the fight to the enemy. No matter what, somebody will be killed and their loved ones hurt, so it's really an issue of who pulls the trigger first. However, that's my theory since I don't have the skills of a superior coordinator like yourself." She meet Kira's deep eyes and just wanted to break down and cry form all the blood she spilt during the last war.

There was silence for some time before Lacus decided to speak up. "May I ask where you were stationed during the last war?"

"A few days before the Earth Forces attacked Orb, I was transferred to Ame-no-Mihashira under Ms. Rondo Mina Sahaku. That's how I came to accept the beliefs about war that I have today." Michiru was planning on going further into detail, but was interrupted by her cell phone. "Excuse me," she told the two celebrities prior to taking the call. Everybody on the beach remained respectfully silent, but they knew trouble was on the horizon for the aqua haired soldier by the way she tried to protest. When she hung up, Michiru turned to an anticipating audience and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but I've been ordered to report in to my superiors. Unfortunately, Orb's heading on the path I was afraid of. So thank you for your company." She gathered her belongings and started walking to her car, but she stopped and faced Kira. "I can't go into too much detail, but I suspect that Ms. Cagalli needs you. Please take care of her, Master Yamato?" Once she got his promise, Michiru left the beach slightly satisfied.

Orb Military Headquarters, two hours later:

"Do you understand your instructions, Lt. Kaioh," asked Michiru's superior officer as he handed her the assignment instructions.

"Yes sir, even though I hate it with every fiber of my body," responded Michiru with disgust, but respectfully.

"This mission doesn't require your opinion, soldier. All it requires is for you to do your job and make sure nothing interrupts that Lord Yuna's wedding. Is that understood, Lieutenant?" Michiru could tell by his glare and the hatred in his voice that he couldn't stand her, and she felt the same. Commander Nephrite had a history when it came to his hatred of coordinators. Usually, those unlucky bastards that were put under his command ended up dying from "accidents," or so he claimed. Michiru figured the reason he hated her above all other coordinators was that she'd survived every "accident" that happened to her, which she'd lost track of.

"Yes sir," Michiru answered loud and clearly. Like a prisoner being released from confinement, she happily left her commander's office, but not before discretely giving him the bird.

"Another confrontation," asked a silver haired officer standing in the hallway. This person ended up being Michiru's only friend in her division, but their relationship was on pretty rocky terms.

"Honestly Yaten. If you keep up that tone, I'll lose my patience and have you court-martialed. Is that understood Chief Petty Officer Yaten Kou?" The two women grinned at each other.

"Still as elegant as ever, eh Michiru. Still, the thought of seeing you lose your temper may be something worth a court-martial. Seeing Ms. Graceful blow her top does sound rather tempting." Yaten threw her friend a canned coffee and suggested that they left for a jeep parked outside. "Wanna hit a bar later tonight?"

"Is that a serious offer? Fine, but you have to pay for drinks tonight since I paid last time." Michiru laughed at her friend's little cursing rant, but decided to cut it short. "I'll meet you outside the hanger at 2000 hours sharp. I need to go check on those maintenance people and see how they're treating my machine."

"I swear, that if you don't stand over them with a frickin' stick, those people from the maintenance division always do a half-ass job. It's probably because most of them are civilians from Morgenroete. I wonder if their methods would change if we strapped them into a broken down M-1 and left them on a battlefield?"

"Probably so," answered Michiru, now in a more relaxed mood because of her friend's ranting. "This is where we go our separate ways." In a graceful and daring act, Michiru leaped from the moving vehicle and landed perfectly on her feet. "Later," she yelled at her bewildered friend. Upon entering the hanger that stored her precious mobile suit, she was greeted with a maintenance report which she scanned through thoroughly.

"As you requested Lt. Kaioh, we upgraded the battery so your machine would have better operating time. But what I don't understand is why you would keep this piece of junk when somebody with your skills should be piloting a Murasame?" Michiru gave the mechanic a sharp glare which made him regret ever asking that question.

"It's actually quite simple crewman. Murasame's can't function under water. So why would a pilot who skill lies in under water combat trade in a custom unit that matched her specifications for a standard suit designed for aerial combat?" Michiru didn't have the patience to wait for the mechanic to put two and two together. "Think about and give me your answer in the morning," she instructed as she shoved the report back into the young boy's chest. She left him to examine her machine and to make sure every adjustment made was to her liking. "Well, old girl, looks like we'll be spending a lot more time together now that war has been declared."


	3. Testing the Mermaid

Hello. Special thanks to Princess de la Luna for her review. That's actually all I have to say, so enjoy and please review.

* * *

Chapter 2 

Testing the Mermaid

Onogoro Island, Orb:

It had been about five hours since the failed wedding of Yuna Roma Seiran and the abduction of Representative Attha by the Freedom. From sheer boredom, Michiru counted the minutes going by as she sat in her cell. Her reason for being thrown in the brig… failure to engage the Freedom and pursue the Archangel despite orders from Seiran himself. She was shaken from her state of boredom by a guard walking in her direction. "Lt. Meioh, Captain Todaka would like to have a word with you." As the aqua haired officer stepped out of her prison, she was handcuffed and escorted to the captain's office.

The walk was long and Michiru already had all the silence she could stand. Opportunity shined on her when she noticed the guard was uneasy on something. "Is there something wrong," she asked out of concern, but mostly to start a conversation. Her fruits of labor paid off and soon her ears were filled with the sweet sound of stammering.

"I…uh… think, um… what you did was a, um, blessing from Haumea. Thank you." The guard finished his statement and hung his head so she couldn't see his blush.

"Thanks for that. For a while I was wondering if what I did, no, what I failed to do was any help to Orb. At least I know that I did some good for a few people." The guard barely looked up at Michiru, but he was able to see enough of her smile to make him blush even more. When they arrived at the destination, the young soldier motioned for her to enter. The aqua haired lieutenant chuckled at how silly the boy looked trying to act calm and serious when he was so nervous that he was sweating bullets. "Would you mind unlocking these handcuffs, um… I'm sorry but what is your name?"

"Ma'am, I am Crewman 3rd Class Helios Elysion. Unfortunately, I cannot take off those cuffs without Captain Todaka's permission. Please forgive me." Helios stiffly bowed to her during his apology as a desperate attempt to look professional, but he only managed to humor Michiru even more.

"It's fine, really, but your posture could use some improvement." Using her voice to give instructions, Michiru was able to change him to where he looked more like a soldier rather than a nervous new recruit. "There, now just remember to remain calm and still. If you do that, then you'll do fine," she advised the young boy at the same time she was straightening out his uniform. She then stared in contempt at the wretched handcuffs that limited the use of her hands. "These things are really inconvenient," Michiru mumbled to herself.

"If that is the problem, then I grant you permission to get them taken off," replied Captain Todaka who happened to be eavesdropping on the entire conversation. Instinctively, Helios snapped to a salute, thus hitting himself in the forehead and stumbling back. Michiru, on the other hand, just smiled at her superior and saluted to him the best she could. In return, Captain Todaka saluted back and gave the two soldiers permission to relax. He waited for the young white haired boy to undo the cuffs and dismissed him. Then, being the gentleman he was, held his office door opened for the aqua haired lieutenant.

Michiru waited for Captain Todaka to close his office door and take his seat before she sat down. "It has been quite a while since we were able to have a private conversation like this, hasn't it uncle?"

"Yes it has, Michiru, but if that was your goal, then I can't approve of your means," answered the older man as he removed his hat and used it to wipe the sweat from his brow. "I'm sorry that you were the only one who was arrested for not acting."

"I'm not that concerned about it. Truth be told, I was expecting it as soon as I got out of my cockpit. My commander is fiercely anti-coordinator and is always looking for things to use against me. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to get me the death penalty," she said with a shrug. Then, her eyes met the eyes of her sorrowful uncle and she lost her cheerful attitude.

"I'm sorry about that. However, I will tell you that you're being transferred from that unit." Michiru wanted to jump for joy, but she knew this wasn't the place for it, and her uncle's guilt-struck expression let her know there was a catch. "You are to be transferred to a Takemikazuchi-class ship under my command. We are being deployed to the Black Sea to assist the Earth Forces in their fight against the Minerva." That news ruined the moment for her. She was a coordinator and to be siding with the army that calls for the extermination of her kind and to fight against her fellow coordinators was absolutely outrageous. Michiru just want to strangle every member of the Orb legislature and personally rip Yuna Roma Seiran and his father limb from limb. As if to further anger her, the last person she wanted to see, at the moment, stepped into her uncle's office.

"Todaka, where is that woman you were talking about," barked Seiran. Due to his political stature, Michiru was begrudgingly forced to stand and salute. To piss her off even further, Yuna forced her aside and sat down in the chair that she formerly occupied. Saying that Michiru was glaring daggers at the man was the understatement of the year. She was glaring 90mm armor piercing rounds at the purple haired jerk. Despite her current anger, Michiru did what she does best and kept a calm, collected, and graceful posture, even though the side arm on her belt was pretty tempting.

"Sir, that "woman" you were talking about is Lieutenant Michiru Kaioh, aka the Mermaid of Orb, and she's the person whose seat you just stole." Instead of doing the polite action and standing up to offer the seat, Yuna just turned the chair to face her and examined her thoroughly. That didn't bother Michiru too much, because she had no intention of accepting it and would have burned the contaminated thing if it wasn't property of the government.

"So you're the woman who failed to stop the Archangel from kidnapping my wife? I guess your title makes people overrate your skills, or were you too afraid to confront the Freedom?" As far as Michiru interpreted his message, the current commander-and-chief of Orb had just requested a death sentence and she would have been more than happy to accommodate him, but the problem lied in the part that she'd be executed for treason, something she didn't want. "I must say, you are at least good looking," said Yuna with a smirk. "Anything you'd like to contribute to the conversation?"

"Besides a few bullets, no," Michiru mouthed out of precaution. In addition to her blood boiling, the aqua haired woman felt her stomach churn from disgust. "Sir, I'm afraid that if you truly believe the words you just said, then you will certainly disappointed. As far as underwater combat is concerned, is only one person who can qualify as competition. That is the White Whale of the Atlantic Federation, Jane Huston. Any one else who dares confront me will find themselves at the bottom of the sea, I can guarantee you that."

"There is no boasting or exaggeration in that statement," commented a new comer who until recently kept her presence hidden. Upon seeing this person, Michiru was relieved of some stress. She was happy to see another familiar, friendly face. The person who just entered Todaka's office was none other than Michiru's previous commander and one of the most influential people in Orb, Rondo Mina Sahaku. To the aqua haired officer, Rondo Mina Sahaku held a level of respect above all others, and thus deserved a different form of greeting instead of the formal salute. She dropped to one knee before her former commander and placed a gentle kiss on Rondo's hand. In return, Michiru was given a hug upon orders to stand. "It has been too long Lt. Kaioh. Fortunately, the times have not changed you, physically or mentally."

"What do you want Sahaku," spat Yuna. The scorn in his voice and his choice of words reached Michiru's breaking point. Out of rage, the aqua haired woman grabbed the current commander-and-chief by the collar, pulled him from his seat, and slammed him against the office wall. "What the hell is your problem woman? Have you lost your mind?"

"You can say all you want about me, I don't give a shit. However, if you're addressing Lady Sahaku, I don't care if you are the son of Haumea, you **will** show her respect," snarled Michiru as her grip tightened. The niece of Todaka just glared at Seiran for a few seconds, ignoring the orders of her uncle. Despite being undeserving, Yuna was spared from Michiru's wrath when Rondo placed a hand on her ex-subordinate's shoulder.

"To answer your question, I am here to express my disapproval of the trial you have yet to inform Lt. Kaioh of." Michiru, who'd regained her composure, exchanged a brief glance at her beloved superior, then directed her eyes to the man she'd just released. "From what I here, the Orb 2nd Fleet has recently acquired three Deep Forbidden units and pilots from the Atlantic Federation. However, instead of assigning them to the Fleet, you intend to have Michiru fight against these machines with nothing more than two of her six Armor Schneider knives. As a veteran combatant, I must express how careless wasting three brand new mobile suits for a futile test."

"We'll see Ms. Sahaku, we'll see."

Mobile Suit hangar, Onogoro Island, 2 hours later:

Michiru snapped close the seal on her flight suit and removed the helmet from her locker. Underneath the head gear was a small velvet box with a note under it. A smile grew on the Lieutenant's face as she read the note from her uncle and she opened the box to find a pair of silver earrings shaped like dolphins. "Thanks captain," she whispered. Subsequent to placing her helmet on, Michiru tried on her new jewelry and used her hand-carried mirror to admire them.

Upon exiting the dressing room, Michiru was confronted by the three pilots she'd be facing against in the upcoming fight. "Well aren't you the looker. Oh wait, it's not natural." After experiencing her fill of insults for the day, the aqua haired woman decided to ignore them so not to ruin her good mood. She started to notice a trend with the good and bad times of her life and concluded it was some kind of jinx, but that wasn't going to keep her down. "Looks won't do ya any good on the battle field."

"Just because you're a coordinator doesn't mean you got a chance of beat us," said another Federation soldier to assist his comrade in criticizing Michiru. The third soldier remained silent, but the aura he gave off made his feelings towards Coordinators very obvious.

A chill ran down Michiru's spine as she climbed into her cockpit. Before moving her mobile suit, she checked to see if any of her machine's functional capabilities were tampered with, fortunately they weren't. However, she did notice that the restrictions placed on her were not bluffs. The two Igelstellung 75mm multi-barrel CIWS guns were stripped of their ammunition, the phonon beam cannon was nowhere to be found, and four of her Armor Schneider combat knives were also taken away. "I guess somebody wants me dead, again," she mumbled and shrugged her shoulders. After the docking restraints were released, Michiru moved the M-1 to the edge of the outside dock where her opponents were waiting for her.

As soon as the flare was launched signaling the battle to begin, Michiru drew a knife and threw it at the Deep Forbidden unit on her right. The blade sliced through the Forbidden's main camera and disoriented the pilot to where he stumbled into the water. Immediately, she dove into the water and pushed her accelerator to its max and sped to the injured unit. Several alarms went off as multiple mechanical scales went off line, but the sounds went unnoticed by the aqua haired pilot. Because of the Scale System's limitations and weakness to high pressures, Michiru knew that she had to finish off her enemies before they could go too deep. She removed the embedded knife from her victim's head unit and proceeded to strip the machine of its limbs, weapons, and most importantly, its back pack which contained most of its nasty little toys. Upon finishing one opponent, the Mermaid was made aware of several torpedoes heading towards her. With very little time between now and the time of impact, her instincts kicked in as she jerked the control stick to the right.

Michiru managed to dodge the torpedoes, but was stunned when she witnessed what happened to the disabled Deep Forbidden unit that was hit. The explosion and the few seconds full of screams of agony made it painstakingly obvious that those were actual torpedoes instead of blanks. This competition was no longer and simple game to prove who was stronger, it was now a fight for survival. "These guys are willing to shoot their own comrade just to get me? This reeks of foul play," muttered the lieutenant as she kept close watch of the three monitors around her.

"Die you bitch," shouted one pilot as he charged Michiru with his trident in front. Because she was already aware of the advantage of having a longer weapon, she confiscated the trident from the destroyed unit and thrust it into the cockpit of the second Deep Forbidden. Immediately, she shifted her focus on the final unit and stripped it of its arms and weaponry.

"Let go of me," growled the pilot in response to having Michiru drag his mobile suit to the surface.

"Shut the fuck up," she snapped. "This was supposed to be a competition of skill, not a death match. You have no room to demand anything from me."

"Fine, then you'll burn in hell with me," shouted the furious pilot as he reached for the self-destruct panel. However, the cockpit was penetrated and the pilot's body split in half before he could finish the activation code.

Observation room:

"Just as I told you, Seiran. There is no one, neither natural nor coordinator, that can take on the Mermaid of Orb," said Rondo triumphantly.


End file.
